


A New Reality

by SophieRipley



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Coming Out, F/M, Self-Acceptance, Teen Angst, Teen Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-26 15:07:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9908057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophieRipley/pseuds/SophieRipley
Summary: Nick and Judy's young adopted daughter Naomi realizes she's gay, and comes to terms with that while trying to figure out how to tell her parents.





	

It was the eve before the first day of summer, and school had let out hours ago.  The children had all said goodbye to their friends with promises of visits, phone calls, emails, and all other manner of communication, and the summer proper began, at least for the students.  And for most of them this was a joyous occasion.

Some few, however, found some measure of sadness in the parting.  One in particular was a twelve year old clouded leopard named Naomi.  When she came home hours ago she barely spared her parents a glance, slinking upstairs to her room without pause.  She’d been there since, quietly laying on her bed staring at the ceiling.  Her father looked in on her once or twice to be sure she was okay, and found her unmoved; he took this to mean she was deep in thought, which was not a rare occurrence for his gifted daughter.

She was indeed deep in thought, had been since school let out.  Her parents were what the teachers called “social minorities” but which all her friends called “queer”.  This had never bothered Naomi; she saw the love her rabbit mother held for the fox she’d married, and Naomi had witnessed the devotion her fox father had returned.  They weren’t strange to Naomi, who had grown up in this household, they simply _were_.  She understood the reason the label was applied to them—after all, cross-species relationships were definitely not the norm, even now—but it had never mattered. 

Contrary to what some kids at school liked to say, her parents had never pressured her to be queer along with them.  Naomi was firmly _normal_ , thank you very much, had no interest at all in other species, at least romantically.  Then again, until very recently, Naomi had no interest in the other clouded leopards either.  Not in the way that mattered to her more mature or more “active” classmates. 

Her parents had sat her down a couple years ago to have “The Talk” with her, and it was made clear that nobody expected her to like anybody but boy clouded leopards.  Even Naomi made the same assumption, that when it was time she’d start crushing on some boy and then become as nauseatingly sappy as Susan, the otter who lived across the street and was one grade older, who was now dating someone.

Three weeks ago, however, Naomi caught herself staring quietly at her friend Ember during their shared literature class when they were supposed to be reading.  Ember was a clouded leopard her age, a little smaller and stockier than Naomi’s own slender slinky form, and the girl was well into her woman’s growth, had matured considerably over just the last few months.  Naomi couldn’t help but to admire Ember’s subtle feline curves, and the way the blouse she wore that day brought out her eyes.

Since then, Naomi had spent a lot of time looking at her classmates with new perspective, and realized something very important:  she didn’t like males.  Sure, some of them were handsome, or even attractive; Leonard Otterton, for example, was a fine example of a good looking male, and few females could find anything to complain about Vince Felix’s looks.  Of all the clouded leopards in Naomi’s grade, he was probably the best looking. 

But as much as she could recognize the good looking males for what they were, there was no _desire_ behind that recognition.  With the girls, though…Naomi saw Lilith’s narrow, strong shoulders and polished claws and wanted to run her fingers across them.  She saw Ember’s powerful legs—the girl was on the track team and put some of the rabbits to shame—and wanted to pull the other girl onto her lap so she could feel the weight and power of those legs for herself. 

And those were just the _innocent_ thoughts she was having.

And now the school year was over, and the girl on whom she had a crush—and it was definitely a crush—was going on a month-long vacation with her writer father to see her grandparents.  Naomi wouldn’t see Ember again for at least a month, and it made her chest hurt.

And now she sat in her room gazing through the ceiling trying to come to terms with her new reality.

Her parents were queer, but they weren’t _gay_.  It was a different matter entirely, and Naomi’s stomach turned when she thought about what they would think of their daughter now.  Naomi had a good imagination, and it was showing her the strong violet eyes of her mother hardened with disgust, and the emerald eyes of her father swimming with tears of shame.  Would they kick her out?  Could they take back the adoption, eleven years after signing the papers?  Naomi had nowhere else to go, and she was terrified she’d be made to leave.

Somewhere below her, unknown to her, Naomi’s parents were talking about her while cooking dinner.

“I would have thought she’d be excited about school ending, is all,” said Naomi’s mother, Judy.  “She has been before.”

Her dad, Nick, shrugged as he turned the pieces of chicken in the pan.  “Her best friend is leaving for the summer, I think that’s got her bummed out.”

“Ember?”  Judy checked the pasta, then went to the sink to drain it.  “Why didn’t she ask to go with?  They loved having her at spring break.  Went to a lot of effort to learn sign language so they could communicate with her in the first place.  I can’t imagine they’d turn her away.”

“Well, it’s for over a month I think, I talked to Ted about it yesterday.”  Nick put the chicken onto a plate, one small piece for him and two larger pieces for his daughter.  “And they’re seeing Ted’s parents, so it’s something of a family trip.”

Judy nodded as she poured sauce over the pasta.  “That makes sense, then.  Well, she’ll get over it.  It’s only a month, Ember will be back before she knows it.  I’ll finish up here, go get your daughter.” 

While Judy finished the meal prep, Nick mounted the stairs and went down the hall to Naomi’s room.  He peeked in, and seeing she was awake, flashed her light on and off a couple times to get her attention.

Naomi sat up sharply, startled, and frowned at her dad.  Then, she brought her paws up to sign at him.  “ _I wasn’t sleeping_.”

Nick chuckled, then signed back at her, speaking.  “I know, baby.  It’s dinner time.” 

She nodded at him and got up to brush past him and go downstairs.  As she did, Nick couldn’t help but be struck by how large she was.  Barely into her puberty growth spurt and she was taller than Nick by a few centimeters and nearly as heavy.  She was very slender, though, her body even narrower than Nick’s; it was just how she was built, and had caused her to be mistaken for adult servals in recent years. 

Slender or not, though, the girl was beautiful.  He was not looking forward to the next year or so when boys would start noticing her.

Nick came into the dining room a moment after Naomi, and saw the youngster dishing herself some food with a gloomy look.  Normally she’d be signing away at him and Judy during dinner, so much so that they’d have to make her shut up so she could eat.  Tonight, though, she simply sat quietly poking at her food more than eating it.  Judy passed him the bowl of pasta without looking at him, frowning at Naomi.

The meal passed quietly, but eventually Judy looked over to Nick.  “Did she say anything to you upstairs?”  When Nick shook his head, her frown deepened.  “Well, ask her what’s wrong.”

Nick rolled his eyes.  “Aren’t bunnies the emotional ones?”  He didn’t let her retort, setting his cutlery down and tapping Naomi on the shoulder before Judy could do anything but roll her eyes right back at him.

Naomi looked up and raised an eyebrow at Nick, chewing on a bite of her chicken.

“What’s up with you?” asked Nick, with his voice and his paws.  “You seem upset.”

Naomi looked back down at her plate for a long moment, then sighed, setting her own cutlery down to free up her paws.  “ _Am I broken?_ ”

Nick frowned, glanced at Judy briefly.  “What?  Why?  Did someone say something to you?”

Naomi shook her head, then pushed her half-eaten meal away.  “ _Never mind, it’s okay._ ”  She got up and walked out to the front porch.

Nick gave her a minute alone before following her out at Judy’s insistence, leaving the bunny to clean up.  When he got to the porch, Naomi was sitting on one side of the porch swing, her legs folded underneath herself and her ears pinned back with a look of misery.  Nick eased himself onto the swing next to her and gazed up into the darkening sky where a few stars were beginning to appear.

They sat there for awhile, long enough for the streetlights to come on, before Nick heard Naomi growl, drawing his attention.  He turned to face her, and she started signing at him.

“ _I think I like Ember._ ”

Nick raised an eyebrow.  “Of course you like her, she’s your best friend.”

Naomi growled in annoyance.  “ _No, I have a crush on her._ ”

Nick blinked and stared at Naomi, waiting for her to continue.  Naomi stared right back at him, looking miserable.

The girl apparently decided Nick didn’t understand, because she sighed loudly as only a twelve year old girl could.  “ _I think I’m_ gay _, dad._ ”

Nick blinked at her again.  “No, I got that part,” he said.  She couldn’t hear the confusion in his voice, but she could certainly see it in his face.  “Why are you so upset, though?  Did she take it badly?”

Nick watched with concern as first confusion and then profound relief passed across Naomi’s face.  The girl drew in a shuddering breath, tears beginning to flow, and when Nick opened his arms she leaned into his embrace, hugging him tightly.

“You’re alright, sweetie,” he said, petting her back softly.  She couldn’t hear him, but she felt the vibration of his voice and knew he was comforting her.

It took her a minute to compose herself, but when she did she pulled away, still looking a little uncertain but far less miserable than before.  “ _You’re okay with it?  You don’t…hate me_?” 

Nick tried to not chuckle.  He really did.  “Naomi, sweetie, I married a _rabbit_.  Why on earth would it bother me if you like girls?”  He grinned his best jokester grin.  “Tell you what…I won’t hate you for liking girls as long as we get to talk about all the cute girls in your class.”

Naomi laughed, then shoved him.  Then she hugged him tightly before pulling back again.  “ _I love you, dad_.”

“Love you too, squirt.”  Nick pushed her off the swing with a wink, then laid across it.  “Now go tell your mother.”

Trepidation returned in Naomi as she hesitantly returned to the house.  As she entered the living room, Judy looked up with concern.  Before Naomi could sign anything, Judy spoke and signed at her first.

“Hey sweetie.  Ember didn’t break up with you, did she?”

Naomi, who had raised her paws to start signing, faltered and stared at her mother for a moment in shock. 

“…what?” asked Judy.  Then something clicked.  “Oh…you didn’t think we’d be upset at you for being with Ember, did you?”

Naomi buried her face in her paws for a moment in embarrassment before looking back at Judy.  “ _Me and Ember aren’t dating, mom!  But…I do like girls._ ”

“Honey,” said Judy gently, “I’ve known that for a year and a half.  Now come over here and tell me what’s stopping you from asking her out.”

Naomi couldn’t help but laugh.  Sometimes, she realized, having detectives for parents simplified things.

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently this has been done before? But that's never stopped me from telling a story. So here it is. I hope you enjoy!


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